Democratic National Committee Sends Deceptive Mailing

Did you get one of these in the mail too? It looks like a FedEx or Priority Mail envelope with big, bold lettering on one side that reads: “EXPRESS PRIORITY, URGENT.” On the other side is a form that appears to have been filled out by hand, with a blue ink pen. The blue ink on my envelope was smudged in places, further convincing me that this was indeed a hand addressed, express envelope. When I zipped open the envelope, I found it was a solicitation for contributions to the Democratic National Committee.

On closer inspection, I could see telltale signs that the envelope was not hand addressed at all. It was machine printed to look like it was hand addressed. I must admit, the smudgy blue ink was a nice touch, it made it look so real.

Some may consider this a clever direct mail gimmick, but clearly, it is deceptive. It is something appearing to be what it is not. It is sad to see the DNC use deception as a fund-raising tool.

”’John Pritchett is one of Hawaii’s leading cartoonist. His work can be seen in Honolulu Weekly, Small Business News, HawaiiReporter.com and on his Web site at:”’ http://www.pritchettcartoons.com ”’To reach Mr. Pritchett, email him at:”’ mailto:pritchet@lava.net

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